William b



`(No Model.)

W. B. STOVER.

' WAGON.

No. 562,434. PatentedJune 23, 1896.

.35h15 11H3. l

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM B. STOVER, OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO TIIE STUDE- BAKERBROTHERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

WAGON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 562,434, dated June 23,1896.

Applicant filed August 10,1895. serrano. 558,874. (remodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LWILLIAM B. SrovEn, of South Bend, in St. Josephcounty, in the State of Indiana, have invented new and usefulImprovenents in Vagons; and I `declare that the following is a full andaccurate description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a perspective view of awagon possessing my invention. f Fig. 2 is a plan of axle and wheels.Figs. 3 and 4 are elevations of the hub, illustrating the set of theskein. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal elevation,with axle in section, showingthe tension-rod. y

It is well known that a wagon-axle skein has a conical figure, and thatthe axis of said cone is not parallel with the ground nor perpendicularto the line of progression. Every wagon-wheel is somewhat dishing, andthe skein has imparted to it a certain set, as the wagon-makers term it,that is to say, the skeins are so placed on the axle th at the axis ofeach skein will incline downward and alittle forward at the outer end.The effects of this are, first, the supporting-spokes of the`considerably farther apart than their treads or bottoms; third, theslight forward inclination of their axes 'causes the wheels to gather,that is to say, tend to run toward each other. of the skein is a matterof importance and delicacy. If it is too great, the wheels gather toomuch, and run too hard against the collars. If it is not great enough,the wheel tends to wabble7 back and forthf between the nut and thecollar, and therefore runs unsteadily, or it runs againstthe nut. Whenthe set is just right, the wheel simply tends to run against the collar,and therefore to run steadily, but without undue friction.

The skein being set down and forward at its outer end, it will beperceived that a small rotary motion of the skein will either exaggerateor extinguish the gather of the wheels, according to its direction. Thewheel will run too hard against the collar or will cease to gather andwill either wabble or run against the nut. Usually, when the draft isapplied This forward inclination or set to the axle this rotation is ina direction which exaggerates the forward set. 'The object of myinvention is to prevent this rotary movement of the axle, and thereforepreserve the wheel in its proper position. n

This invention `applies more particularly to those wagon-gears whichhave the draft force applied to the front axle, though the principleinvolved has a wider application, which will be readily perceived byreference to this description.

For convenience Iwill confine my particular description to a low-downwagon, such as is adapted to delivery of milk, the. In all wagons ofthis class the draft strain is applied to the axle through the medium ofthills or a tongue to which horses are attached. The line of draft willbe a direct line from the point of thill attachment to the horsesshoulder,which latter is invariably considerably above the level of theaxle. Consequently the draftisforward and upward from the point ofconnection, and as said point of connection is forward of the axle thereis a consequent lift which tends to rotate the axle and exaggerate thegather of the wheels.

In counteracting the lifting effect of .a draft on an upward line thereare several points to be considered, and the controlling condition is,the draft strain ought to be transmitted direct to the body or gear ofthe wagon through but irrespective of the axle, and the second conditionis, the active devices must be so arranged that any rotary movement ofthe axle will disturb the line of draft and be immediately resisted bythe draft.

I am aware that inmany heavy platformgears the draft strains act uponthe platforms, which `are rigid, and that, in those cases, the frontaxles are pushed forward by the wagon and gear, instead of drawing thewagon and gear after the axle. In such cases the tendency to rotatetheaxle will extinguish the gather, and the wheels will run against thenuts.

I am also aware that in common farmwagons the tongue is attached tothefront ends of the hounds, which projectyforward from the axle; but inthat case the point of tongue attachment is so far in front of `the axleand so high in respect thereto that there IOO is but little tendency torotate the axle, and this little is effectually counteracted by therearward extension of the hounds and their sliding connection with thereach; but I am not aware that any wagon has heretofore been constructedwith provision for preventing rotary motion of the front axle on theprinciple of my provision, which I will new particularly describe.

A is the front axle, and B B are the skeins. Their downward set is shownin elevation in Fig. l, and their forward set is shown in plan in Fig.2. The forward set shown in Fig. 2 is greatly exaggerated, because in adrawing so much smaller than full size the true set would not beperceptible. The set in both directions is illustrated in Fig. 3, wherethe point g shows the position of the axis of the axle, exaggerated asto forward set.

vC C are the wheels. D D are the clips for attachment of the thills ortongue E. The line of draft F extends in a straight line from the clip Dto the harness of the draft-animal, and it exerts a lift-ing strain uponthe front axle, `tending to cause a rotation thereof in the direction ofthe arrows. This will tend to transfer the point g toward g, Fig. 4, andimpart vtoo much forward set and cause the wheels to run too hardagainst the collars.

To support the axle against the direct pull of the draft, and transmitthe draft to the rear axle, a reach of some kind is employed. In thelow-down wagon the bottoni of the wagon-body constitutes the main partof the reach, and the tension-rod II constitutes the remainder of thesame; but the location of the joint which connects the axle and rod IIis an essential part of the invention to obtain the best results. Inordinary wagons, where a reach is employed, the front end of the reachis not usually connected to the front axle, but to a bolster orhead-block, and in low-down wagons, where a bolster and fifthwheel havebeen employed, a rod has been employed in place of II. The front end ofsaid rod has been connected to the king-bolt below the axle and capableof motion up and down therewith, or thereon, when the body moves up ordown. All these are different from my device and are incapable ofproducing the same effect.

The proper location of the joint I at the front end of the rod II hasbeen a matter of experiment, and I have discovered that said joint mustbe in the inclined plane of the line of draft projected through the axesof the clips D D toward the rear, as shown. That is to say, the bestresults are attained when so arranged. The draft strains are thentransmitted directly to the rod II and to the wagonbody without anytendency to rotate the axle. If the joint I were below said plane, therewould be a tendency to lift the clips D, and rotate the axle, but suchtendency would be resisted by the rod II in proportion to the distanceof said joint I below the said plane.

When the joint I is in the plane F exactly,

no rotation of the axle can take place without elongation of the rodI'I, because any rotation of the axle must carry the joint I in the arcof a circle about the axis of the wheels C in the direction of thearrows, Fig. 5. This resistance of the rod II is augmented if the jointI is placed below the line F because the radius of its orbit around theaxis of wheel C will be increased. This statement is the result ofelaborate experiments, and the wagons built in accordance with it havedemonstrated the correctness of the principles discovered.

In the case depicted in the drawings the clips D have considerableprojection in order to reach over the half-spring J, which is attachedto the same iron, and the downward bend in the axle locates the joint Iin the line of draft.

I locate the joint I on the front side of the axle A, not from anynecessity in the matter of rotation of the axle which has been discussedabove, but for another reason entirely.

The distance between the axle and the wagon-body is short, being onlyabout sixteen inches. As the wagon-body rises and falls, due either tovarying load or to momentum caused by the passage of the wheels overobstacles in their path, the rear end of said rod tends to move in theare of a circle about the joint I as a center; but such movement isdisturbed bythe momentum of the body and its other connections, whichcause it to move in a straight line. At the saine time the displacementof the joint I by a thrust of the red II is resisted by the axle A andits connections. If the rod II were straight, the resistance of the axlewould be forcibly overcome, and that result is not desirable. Ithereforemake said rod with a gooseneck bend, and therefore capable of yieldingsufiiciently to permit the body te descend without pushing the axle outof place. The necessity of this flexibility will appear from aconsideration of the following facts: It is evident that so far as anyrotation of the axle is concerned the axis of such rotation. must be theaxis of the wheels in which said axle is supported, because were itelsewhere any rotation of the axle would necessarily result in raisingthe wheels off the ground, or in depressing them into the ground,neither of which is possible.

If the wagon-body descends in a straight line, said line is either achord er a tangent of a curve about the joint I as a center. If the rodI'I were inflexible, then the descent of the body in a straight linewould cause the joint I to be displaced along an arc of which the axisof the wheel is the center; but the arc through which the rod II wouldcause the body to descend has a radius of about eighteen inches, whilethe arc along which the joint I may be displaced by a thrust of said rodhas a radius of about three inches, and it is evident that whereas thewagon-body may descend in a straight lineit is impossible for the jointI to be displaced along any straight line, and that a sufficientdisplace- IOO IIO

ment in arc may be impossible, so that, Without reference to otherconsiderations, the mere relation of the parts Would compel a Ilexibiltyof the rod H. Its ready flexibility is secured by its curved form.

The rear end of the rod His provided with a simple free joint K and asupporting saucershaped spring L, which prevents rattling in said joint.

In the particular Wagon depicted in the drawings, the Weight of theWagon-body rests upon the half-spring J in front of the axle and anyrotation of the axle under thrust of the rod II Would cause the frontend of the body to be raised up, which would be a result quiteimpossible.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In a Wagon-gear, the clip Iand tensionrod II, connected to the axle in the plane of the line ofdraft extended to the rear through the draft-clips D, D, for the purposeset forth.

2. In a Wagon, a front axle provided With forward1y-projecting clips toreceive the draft strains, combined with a tension-rod connected at itsrear end to the Wagon body or reach, and at its front end jointed to theaxle at a point belowr and in rear of said clips, whereby rotation ofthe axle is prevented by substitution of the tension-rod joint for theaxis of the axle as a center of rotation.

3. In a low-down Wagon, the front axle A provided with the projectingdraft-clips D, D, the slightly-elastic tension-rod H, jointed at itsrear end to the Wagon-body and at its front end to the axle A, as andfor the purpose set forth.

4. Ina Wagon, the front axle A, combined With a slightly-extensibletension-rod I-I and a spring-plate L for the purpose set forth..

. WILLIAM B. srovna. Witnesses:

CHAs. A. FRANCIS, EDWIN C. WITWER.

